I am A Mask
by Kenpachi Ikari
Summary: Its harder to win a fight that you know you could win, then to win a fight where its an even match... Chapter 3 up
1. Chapter 1

Kenpachi Ikari: Wanted to try my hand at a different type of story... ITs been bugging me for a number of months  
Mask person: You shall not know me until second chapter!  
Kenpachi: I own nothing but the masks and some OCC,

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It was a clear and cold night. Our eyes watched the men going in and out of the Fire Nation prison, completely unaware of our presence. As they should, seeing as we kept to the shadows. We had been watching the prison for over two weeks. Learning how it ticked, when the men changed guard, and when they closed the gates for the night. The moon's shine started to dim slightly, it was time. If one was to look to either end of the prison, they would see that some of the shadows were moving towards its outer walls.

Yet again, that is how we worked. Nobody was to know that we were moving, nor even know we were there. A gruff voice echoes in our ears through our earpieces. It's the commander, telling us something that we already know. We stand just as the shadows towards the ends of the prison all stop moving, each of our bodies completely covered in black. Our masks marked like that of the Cheshire cat's face, yet its outsides are lined with silver.

It shines dimly in the remaining moonlight, reflecting just what we are. We are shadows, we are nightmares, and we are Masks without names. I hear chuckling to the left of me, coming from one of the masks. "Hey rookie, just stay close to me and you might live" It says with a light chuckle. I turn to him, just as he lifts his mask. I could not make out his facial features, but one thing that does catch my eye is the scar that rises over his left eye.

His eyes were brown from what I could tell, but it didn't matter. He smiled at me, his pearly white teeth giving off a slight glint in the moonlight. "The name's Mark rookie" He said confidently, justifying his place over me. "Pay him no mind, he's an idiot" A feminine voice cracked after Mark had finished talking. The person in front of me removed their mask, allowing short silver hair to flow freely, blue eyes shining in the moonlight, staring right into my eyes through my mask.

"Aww come on Meryl, you know you can't resist hearing my voice" Mark piped up, softly pushing me away from the female. "Oh don't get so full of yourself ya big ape!" Meryl said sternly, making Mark sigh in frustration. "Come on don't be like that…. I just wanted to warn the kid before we started" Mark said softly, still moving closer to Meryl who took this time to look directly at me.

"Even so, if you're not careful with your ego…. He may end up being the one that steps over your corpse first" Meryl said firmly, a hint of worry in her voice. Before Mark could say another word, the commander's voice boomed into our earpieces.

"Squad A and B just finished planting the bomb and taking out the guards on the upper walls, Squads C and D are to breach through the holes that the explosions will create. Squad E, you guys are on patrol duty today. The target is on the second floor, heavily guarded by what information we could get. This is not going to be easy ladies and gents, so watch each others backs out there. If someone gets in the way, kill them if necessary, we wish you luck on your mission" He said before it tuned out.

Mark and Meryl looked at each other one last time before sharing a simple kiss and returning to their formations, I watched the both of them slowly walk away. I check my equipment carefully, making sure my twin blades are resting against my back, my knives lining my arms, and my sedatives and pill in my satchel. I can already feel the adrenaline start to pump into my system, even though we are not even moving.

I look towards the prison and I hear from my ear the start of the countdown to the mission start. The man says it as though it is nothing more than a countdown to our own deaths, yet it goes unnoticed to everyone else. I count softly to myself, hoping to stave off the adrenaline until I need it, 3…….2……….1……..Boom! The bombs have been detonated and we are moving. I follow swiftly behind Squad D as we advance through the west side of the prison.

As soon as I entered the smoldering hole of burned rock and metal, I look over the scene. Bodies litter the floors, some underneath the rubble, and others against the wall or face down on the ground. I hear a groan to my left and turn to see one of the bodies slowly start to move. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a figure clothed in black slowly walk up to the body and I turn, hearing the blade cut through the air and the sickening sound of it cutting through the skin of the figure.

They should have just stayed down, then maybe they would have lived. I hear the screams of men echoing through the empty halls from outside, their battle cries and their last breaths all etched into that one scream. My squad stops, giving me a moment to catch my breath and to stare out the window that is to my right. As I peer through it, my eyes look over the battlefield that is this prison. It seemed that the guards were quicker to react than our people had intended, but it did not matter how fast they reacted.

I see bodies fall one after another from both sides. The walls coated with their blood, and the halls still echoing with their screams. But something strikes me as odd, here we are attacking a Fire Nation prison, but not a single bender in sight. The adrenaline returns, this time more forcefully as my mind starts to react. I feel a hand tap my shoulder and I look towards the masked person in front of me, its time to move again. Corner after Corner, enemy after enemy, we continue to advance.

So far, none of our squad members has died, yet some were injured but continued on with us. We made it to the great hall, the stairs are just to our right. Yet, it was a trap which we figured out sooner than we should have. Fire nation soldiers advanced on us, swords drawn and at the ready, I look towards my squad leader, the only one of us whose mask had a single stain of red shaped in a D to signify which squad he commanded. He pointed at me and another masked person and then to the stairs, I knew what he was saying.

'We will cut a path through, you two get to the target and escape'. I nodded just as they drew their swords, we lined up in an arrow type formation as they started to advance near the stairs. The soldiers swung their swords, only to be blocked by the one in front and then slashed by the one behind the blocker. Blood coated the tapestry that surrounded us, and started to pool around our feet as we steadily advanced. When it was clear enough, I and the other masked figure quickly ran towards the stairs, narrowly avoiding the scimitar that was to be used to sever our heads from our bodies.

I hear a splash, and then something warm on my back and I know immediately that the soldier is dead. I advance quickly and silently through the halls of the prison, avoiding any unnecessary conflict as I move. We quickly reached the room in which the target is stationed, and a feeling of dread strikes me. The masked figure beside me voices my doubts in a familiar voice, it was Meryl. "Where are the guards….. Intelligence said it was heavily guarded… Well, less work for us then" She said softly, to which I nodded and quickly unlatched the door.

I moved quickly into the room, eyes looking at the figure that stood against the wall, Golden eyes staring towards me with a cold fury. Its unkempt black hair framing it enraged face as it stared at me from the darkness. I hear movement and see Meryl walk cautiously into the room, eyes trained on the Golden orbs. "So this is the target, Ex-Fire Nation princess Azula" Meryl said jokingly, which earned her a growl from the target.

Meryl raised her hands defensively in a gesture to say she was kidding and slowly approached Azula, who I noticed then was chained to the wall. "Don't worry; we came to rescue you princess… Lets get these mean old bracelets off of you okay" Meryl said softly, to which Azula smirked and held her hands up to give Meryl clear access to the bonds that held her. Yet, before she undid the braces, she produced a needle from her satchel and quickly stabbed Azula in the neck with it.

Azula was about to scream in anger and protest, but Meryl slipped her hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds. Azula's movements started to slow down, and her eyes closed quickly. The sedative was taking effect, and with her sedated Meryl quickly broke the chains that held her. She motioned over for me to pick Azula up, which I complied and quickly pulled the woman over my shoulder. I was slightly surprised how light the woman was, and how easily I could carry her.

Meryl nodded at me and we quickly dashed out of the room, avoiding trouble once again. We advanced down the stairs, hoping to see our team waiting for us. But what we found was worse than what we wanted. Our team had been decimated, their bodies lying together in a crumpled heap of smoldering flesh, I heard Meryl gag behind me. Our team leader's mask lay next to my feet, blood coating it so much that the D no longer stood out from the rest of our mask.

I nodded at Meryl and we quickly left the scene, fleeing down the hallways that held the hole for our means to escape. We passed by that window again, and I saw only a few of our forces still fighting. The rest were lying on the ground presumably dead. The halls that we ran through consisted of more bodies, some of them dismembered and others beheaded. As we rounded the corner, a familiar face graced us at the exit. Mark was just standing there, face looking ghoulish white.

Something was amiss, but Meryl trudged ahead of me only to stop in her tracks. Mark fell to the ground with a sickening thud, to reveal a soldier dressed in blue and fur skin, sword as black as midnight. I quickly moved to the side of Meryl, ready to lay the woman on my shoulder down to fight the soldier, only to see Meryl draw her sword and point towards me and then the exit. I understood immediately, she wanted to fight while I got away.

"T-Target is the top priority….Always remember that" She said softly as she charged at the man, their swords connecting with a loud booming metallic sound. I quickly took this moment to rush the exit, which was blocked by another soldier with a spear. He thrusts it at me, only for me to quickly move out of its way and pull my knife from my sleeve. In one quick movement, the blade in my hand cuts through his throat, blood spraying onto my mask as I continue through the exit as though nothing has happened. Yet, before I am more than 4 steps out of the hole, I hear a blood curdling scream pierce through the night.

I look back, only to see Meryl's mask drop as she was impaled by the blade of that warrior clothed in blue. Yet I have no time to grieve, I must continue onwards with my mission. But I can't help as a single tear escapes the hole through my mask and cascades down its cold surface.

Tonight was the easy part of my mission, and things could only get harder from here on. I look over my shoulder to the sleeping face of Azula and then back towards the rising sun on the horizon. Tonight a team of skilled Assassins infiltrated a prison to retrieve a package, only one made it out. I am a Mask, and I am all alone.

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Kenpachi Ikari:Hope you guys liked it... Oh and for reference if you didn't know... The soldier wearing blue and fur was Sokka  
Masked person: Please R&R... Flames will be used to roast Marshmellows!


	2. Looking for trouble

Kenpachi: Okay people.... New chapter of this story... Like it or not... I Will continue to update it in my spare along with my other stories...  
Masked figure: He does not own Avatar the last airbender nor characters associated with it except his own OOC characters....  
Kenpachi: Oh and one more thing... After this chapter I may stop doing it in first person for awhile....

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As soon as the sun broke over the horizon completely, filling the area with its light, I was already checking into the temporary home that our commander had set up for us. It was built for 10 to 20 people at least from the way it looked. But only two came to rest in its vast empty halls. I slowly trudged forward into its depths of quiet and tranquility. The only sounds echoing in the halls were of my heavy breathing, and Azula's light snoring. I quickly find my way around the barren house, searching it thoroughly for a place to place the sleeping princess.

I slowly creep into an unoccupied room, and see that it is one of the better furnished ones. I gently set the princess down onto the queen size bed and turn towards the mirror. My mask and parts of my clothing have blood on them, yet none of it is my own. That's a good thing I guessed, slowly reaching up to slip the mask from my face. My face finally feeling the dim rays of light that passed through the curtains of the room. Eyes as silver as the moon were staring back at me. My face looked slightly devoid of color, yet that color seemed to be returning to its natural state of white.

My hair sleek and black, it was somewhat suffering from the piece of the mask that held it onto my face. I sighed softly in frustration as I looked back again on what happened last night, and what was sacrificed by my fellow peers. I can already feel the tear as it makes its way down my warm cheek, before it is followed by another. Before long, a river of tears is flowing freely down my face, and I have neither the strength nor will power to even try and stop them. I stood there crying, while unbeknownst to me, the target was starting to wake up from the drug.

I continue to stare into my reflection, wondering what I could have done differently in order to save Meryl. Yet, I could come up with nothing, she was gone and I was not. That was the gist of it, and that was all that could be done about it. I turned around slowly just to check up on the princess, only to narrowly avoid a vase that was clearly aimed at me. It smashed against the mirror, breaking it and the mirror into sharp glass shards that fell to the floor and broke into many other smaller pieces.

I looked towards my assailant, and found myself once again lost in those fiery golden eyes. She looked around quickly, probably for more things to throw at me. I didn't give her a chance to practice her already deadly aim and quickly lessened the distance between us both. She abandoned her search for a new projectile, and instead turned towards me, a look of utter hatred plastered on her face. "Who the hell are you?!" She yelled venomously at me, what a nice way to tell someone thanks. I slowly tried to close the distance between us, in fear that she might try and break more things.

She gets in a battle-stance, both hands poised to strike if I step closer. Our eyes lock for a second, just before she bends slightly and my eye sees her foot coming at me from the side, to which I easily dodge by ducking. That was a bad idea, because no sooner had I ducked then she had already propelled her other foot to catch me right on my chin. It sent me flying back and crashing straight onto the bed, how lucky was I in that moment not to be sent into the glass. I get up slowly, only to see her quickly dash at me and jump onto the bed, pinning me down to it. Her eyes still holding that hatred in them, as she pulled one of my own knifes from my satchel and pointed it at my throat.

"Now… You are going to answer some of my questions, the first being who in the hell you are" She said coldly, making sure the steel of the blade pressed against my neck tightly. I sighed softly, making sure not to breathe too deeply incase the blade press even harder into my neck. "Well… what a nice way to tell someone thanks for saving my life" I said sternly. She seemed taken aback by this, probably by surprise at how I said it regardless of the knife pressed against my throat. She growled at me and leaned in closer, her face mere inches from my own.

"Tell me what I want to know… Or I'll slice your throat like the peasant you are" She said again, her voice laced with her anger that seemed to be rising. I stared into her fiery golden eyes with my own silver ones, my face staying in a state of calmness, yet my body betrayed that by shaking for a second. A smirk formed on her lips as she looked down at me, "Come on you commoner… Just tell me what I want to know" She said softly and smugly, I wanted to wipe that smirk off her face. Yet, instead of continuing to resist, I came up with a plan to disarm her.

"Alright…. What do you want to know Princess Azula?" I asked softly, acting as though I was finally terrified. She perked up at the sudden outburst and her smirk seemed to grow even wider. "Okay… Now... who the hell are you and why am I here?" She said sternly, she was straight to the point. "My name is Teru Velos, and you are here because I was told to bring you here to rest" I said softly, feeling the blade against my neck slightly become less tense, allowing me breathing space.

I thought that maybe she would set me free after that little piece of information, I was horribly wrong. She continued to press the blade against my throat, eyes showing that she had calmed down slightly. "Okay… now who told you to bring me here?" She asked sternly. I looked her straight in the eye, and then averted my own. I was told not to reveal that information to anyone, not even to the target herself. She didn't like my silence; I felt the hot sting of her hand across my face and then looked up to the angry look in her eyes.

"Tell me peasant…. Or next time I'll use the knife" She threatened, the knife tightening once again against my neck. Before I could even say a word, a loud trumpet sounded from outside. Her head snapped towards the window as though she knew that sound, and to further express my thought, she completely removed herself from me and looked outside of the window. I got up quickly, backing away from her slowly and looking for my dual katana. My eyes scanned her face slowly, noticing the way that her eyes resonated with such hate that she looked as though she would burn down the building.

A scowl was planted on her face, and that made me search for my blades all the faster. When I had found them, I quickly unsheathed them and placed one in each hand. I cautiously walked up behind her, making sure not to disturb her trance-like state. By the time she did look back towards the bed where she thought had thought I was, my blades was already placed precariously on either side of her neck. "It's not very nice to sneak up on a lady, especially when the Fire Lord is within earshot of her scream" Azula said softly, a small smirk visible on her face.

I sneered at her and quickly looked out the window, and just like she said the Fire Lord was walking through the streets. On the sides of him were his elite bodyguards, faces covered by a mask that rose like that of a flame. But what she had failed to mention three other details. One being that the Fire Lord looked pissed off. Two, the avatar and his band of friends was beside him. And Last but not least, they had a poster behind them that depicted Azula's face and my mask.

"Guess ZuZu did come looking for me… well I guess I can repay him by severing his head from his body" Azula said with a sinister grin on her face. I growled in annoyance and turned towards the Ex-princess of the Fire nation. "No… What that means is we are getting the hell out of town…" I said coldly, removing my swords from near her neck and turning to start packing stuff to go with. I heard her footsteps lightly tap against the floor, and I turned around just to see her smiling face as she disappeared out of the door.

I jumped up quickly, a stream of curses escaping my lips as I charged out after her. I made sure that I had my mask tied to the top of my head, and my satchel still containing the things from my mission. As soon as I was outside of the building, I found that finding Azula was going to be a hell of a lot harder than I thought. The streets were flooded with people, most likely to see the Fire Lord and the Legendary Avatar Aang. I shook my head in anger and looked around for some type of way of spotting Azula. My eyes caught sight of a ledge, and black hair disappearing behind it.

I smirked to myself as I quickly made my way past the crowds of people towards the ledge. When I was near enough to it, I noticed that I could not jump high enough to grasp it normally. Then my eyes saw an empty crate, which I noticed was in a perfect position to jump onto the ledge from. "Maybe she's smarter than I thought" I said softly, quickly running towards the box. I took one step from it and propelled myself far enough to grab the ledge. I hoisted myself up quickly, and stood up to look for my target.

She was peering over the ledge of the building, eyes trained on something. I quickly approached her, making sure to keep my head down as to not draw attention. Yet, fate just has to have the last laugh it seems. As soon as I was close to her, Fire Lord Zuko looked straight up at her. Their eyes connected and I watched them stare, until he turned completely around. "There on the roof! She's up there" He bellowed, making every head turn to the direction he was pointing in. I cursed under my breath again, pulling my mask down to hide my face as I moved in front of Azula.

Their faces all looked onto my mask, while my hand reached into my satchel to produce a small white ball. "When I throw this… Follow me and No damn complaining" I said hotly, loud enough for her to hear. I heard no complaints from her, and I took it as her understanding me. I jumped back just as I threw the small white ball down at the Fire Lord and his crowd. I saw his guards move in front of him in a protective manner, and each shoot a stream of flames upwards towards he white ball. I smiled under my mask, as I fell back and grabbed hold of Azula. I pulled her down towards the ground, knowing what the intense flames of their fire bending would do to the contents of the white ball.

As soon as I made sure that we were both down, I heard the sound of it exploding and the cloud of smoke rising from down below. I grabbed Azula's hand and quickly started to make our way from rooftop to rooftop. I looked back to see if we were being followed, and just like I thought we were. Two Fire nation elite guards were hot on our trail, faces completely hidden from view. I could feel the persistent pull of Azula to make me release her hand, her voice yelling at me. "Let me go peasant! I want to fight! I want kill that little traitor Zuko!" She yelled, clawing at my hand with her other one.

I turned another corner quickly, making sure I was out of the Fire Nation guards' sights for a split second, long enough for me to pull out a small silver ball from my satchel. I threw it round the corner, where I knew they were coming. I smiled as I heard the pop of it hitting the ground and then the familiar puff of smoke that signified that it had indeed created the cloud of smoke that it should have. I pulled Azula along behind me and to the corner of the roof. I heard coughing behind us, signifying that the two tailing us were starting to come out of the smoke screen. I looked around for a means of escape, and saw a cart of straw below us.

I knew Azula wasn't going to like it, but then again she had no say in the matter. She was still looking back towards the smokescreen when I jumped down towards the cart. Her hand was still in mine, so she fell along with me with a yelp of surprise. We landed softly into the cart of straw, but I knew we couldn't stay there too long. As soon as I was sure the coast was clear, I slowly emerged from the straw. I pulled a few stray pieces from my cloths and waited for Azula to emerge. I had to stop myself from laughing when she did emerge, if I said her hair looked unkempt before then it was an understatement now.

Straw had entangled itself with her hair, and her it made it look even wilder than it usually did. She shot me a glare of absolute hate and jumped from the cart, picking out pieces of straw. She pushed past me and I quickly followed after her, a small smile hidden behind my mask. "So what's the plan? They know I'm in town and so are you… I say we just go after ZuZu and kill him and his little friends" Azula said evilly, I could only groan in annoyance. "No… we will go back to the dwelling and prepare to leave" I proclaimed, and reached to grab her hand again. She snatched it away quickly, staring at me with those hateful yet beautiful eyes.

"You will listen to me peasant…. You will do as I say" She said coldly, eyes narrowing into slits. "Fine… do what you want…. Have fun back in that prison" I said softly with a hint of annoyance. I turned around to head back to the temporary headquarters, and heard her groan of defiance. Yet, instead of walking the other way, she followed after me in a huff of anger. We walked along in a drawn out silence, except to tell the other to hide when the Fire nation soldiers swept past. When we did arrive back at the house, we quickly rushed in and shut the doors. I knew it was only a matter of time until they started to search the residents of people in the town.

I quickly rushed to the kitchen where a duffle bag laid waiting on the countertop. I quickly started to pack things that I thought we would need. I packed the food and a few medical supplies just in case. I checked the nearby drawers and found a few pouches of coins. I smiled and quickly threw them into the bag, ready to depart. I slung the bag over my shoulder and ran upstairs to see what Azula was up to. I checked every room, and found no Azula in either of them. I was starting to get worried, knowing her she was probably already getting captured by the Fire Lord's guards.

I growled angrily as I prepared once again to go and get her, only to hear a dark chuckle from behind me. I whirl around quickly, to come face to face with a now short haired Azula. "What? I didn't like having my hair that long, it annoyed me… Now let's get a move on peasant" She said smugly as she walked right by me and down the staircase. I shook my head in shock and followed after her, stopping near the top of the staircase as I saw her just standing at the bottom. I could barely see her face, but I could tell it held a look of utter shock on it.

"You are under arrest as in accordance with Fire Lord Zuko's wishes… Come quietly and your punishment will be swift" A masculine voice shouted. I saw Azula's foot move backwards, and then she bolted up the staircase, just as a blast of fire ripped through the air burned the staircase just where she was moments ago. I quickly moved out of the way as she bolted past me, making sure that I kept in the shadows where the only thing that showed was my mask. Yet, the Fire nation guard did not notice me as he sped past towards Azula.

I moved slowly from the shadows and followed them around the corner. Azula was at the only dead-end in the entire dwelling, and the soldier was standing before her, fist held at the ready. "Do not resist, or I will be forced to subdue you" Said the soldier, inching slightly closer towards Azula. I saw the smirk form on her face as I silently unsheathed one of my blades. "Well... I would but I don't think it matters to a dead man" She said coldly, just as I brought my blade down on top of his head, completely cutting it down the middle from the top of its point to the middle of his neck.

Blood splattered onto the ground and sprayed back onto my cloths, adding to the blood that was already on them. The soilder gurgled in his own blood before dropping to the ground dead, his brain leaking onto the tapestry and carpet underneath him. "Hmm your not as innocent as you look little boy" Azula said smartly as she started to rummage through the pockets of the dead soldier, pulling out a knife from his pocket. She rushed past me with a small on her lips, which just made me smile as well.

"What happened to being a peasant?" I called after her as I raced behind her. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell that she was smirking from her tone of voice. "You just got upgraded little boy…. Don't get downgraded" She said softly, a laugh escaping her throat. Now that we no longer could stay in town, we just had to find a way to get out of here without getting killed. And now that I think about it, maybe I'm not as alone as I thought I was with Azula here.


	3. City Breakout!

Kenpachi Ikari: Onkay finally updated... And with this I am not continuing my other works...  
Teru:Ya damn right! Get on with it!  
Kenpachi:I do not own any of the avatar characters... Only Teru and other OC characters that I create for this adventure

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Teru groaned in pain from the heavy duffle bag he was carrying slamming against his side with every step he took. He looked ahead of him, eyes locking onto the close yet distant short hair of Azula. He turned around to see if they were being followed, and apparently they weren't. When he turned back towards the front, he saw that Azula was nowhere to be seen.

He stopped in his tracks, quickly looking around for any sign of her. How the hell she disappeared in a matter of seconds, away from his sharply trained eyes? He walked quickly forward, only to jump in fright and shock when she landed next to him with a smile on her face and a few Fire soldier masks in her hands.

"If we change into some uniforms, we can leave the city without anyone even caring" She said. Teru nodded and grabbed one of the helms, when Azula grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her. Before he could even comprehend what had happened, his lips were pressed tightly against Azula's. He wondered why this was happening, when a couple of fire nation guardsmen rushed past them.

As soon as they were out of view, Azula disengaged herself from Teru and moved to continue walking. "I'm going to go find a place to change… Make sure you don't get yourself caught" She said softly, before she disappeared behind a corner. Teru shook his head and looked down at the helmet, and then to his own cloths, which still held the dried blood stains of his previous activities. He quickly hid the helmet when he saw another fire nation soldier approaching, and he got an idea.

He would need another outfit, and he knew exactly where to get one. He smiled as the soldier got closer, to the point that he was just about to pass Teru. Teru grabbed the guard from behind, covering his mouth so that he could not scream and quickly pulled him into the dark alley. In one motion, he knocked the guard unconscious and laid him onto the ground, looking the man over.

He smirked when he finished assessing the cloths and knew they would fit him. He quickly stripped the man down, till nothing was left except the man's Fire Nation boxers, which made Teru chuckle. Teru quickly stripped off his pants and replaced them with the Fire Nation soldier's pants. Next was his shirt, which he removed slowly, in doing so revealing many scars that lined his arms and back, most of which looked like wounds from a blade.

He quickly slipped the shirt on, which was followed quickly by the helmet. He looked himself over as best he could in a puddle of water on the floor, and froze when he saw a familiar reflection in it. On the roof above him, oblivious to his whereabouts, was the water tribe girl from the avatar's group. He knew it was her; because of her signature water tribe necklace that she was said to always wear.

That's when Teru remembered the water puddle in front of him, if she found out he was there, then that water puddle could be his undoing. He tried to remain perfectly still, hoping that she would not see him, and as fate would have it, she shook her head and jumped across the clearing between the two buildings. Teru breathed a sigh of relief before quickly making his exit from the alleyway, making sure to hide the soldier somewhere safe.

When he walked out, he was greeted by another Fire Nation Soldier, standing at the entrance to the alleyway. He tried to play it cool, and tried to slightly disguise his voice to make it sound deeper. "It's clear down there… Nothing to report" he said in his deep voice, only to receive a light chuckle from the soldier. "Calm down boy, it's only me… Guess we had the same idea after all..." Came Azula's voice, before turning around and walking forward.

Teru smiled and nodded, quickly following after Azula towards the gates. They walked for a few minutes, passing dozens of other Fire Nation soldiers, who seemed completely oblivious to whom they were. Teru was getting calmer and calmer with each step, always checking his surroundings, just in case they needed a quick escape. Yet, the way things were going, they would probably not need one.

"There's the checkpoint, we get pass that and we are home free" Azula said softly from beside him, to which he nodded. There was one problem that Teru could see before they had even gotten that far, there seemed to be nearly thirty guards there, and nearly each one of them had a spear with them. But that wasn't what the problem was, he was pretty sure they could get passed the twenty or so guards.

What he didn't know they could overcome was the smaller person sitting on the ground before the camp. She seemed to be staring out at nothing, but Teru knew better than that. She was the very famous Toph Beifong, the first Earth bender to bend metal, even though she was blind. And being blind, she could sense movement and even if someone was nervous and lying.

"Just stay calm… We can trick the blind peasant if we stay calm" Azula said reassuringly, to which Teru nodded and continued towards the camp. When they were mere feet from the camp, one of the guards walked towards them, spear poised in a defensive way. "We have orders from _Fire lord_ Zuko to check outside the gates, to make sure that the culprits did not get outside of the gates" Azula said coolly, to which the guard turned towards Toph, who seemed to look towards them, exposing her silvery eyes towards Azula and Teru.

"So… Zuko said that huh? Well it doesn't feel like your lying….So I guess it's alright" She said softly, before getting to her feet and smiling. "We will also require a ride, seeing as we will cover more ground that way" Azula said quickly, to which the guard nodded and motioned to two of the mounted soldiers, making them dismount and bring the creatures over to Azula and Teru. Azula quickly mounted her horse, riding it casually towards the gate, making sure to wait for Teru to catch up.

Teru mounted the horse, and was about to follow Azula when a flash of blue caught his eye. He turned slowly, only to see the water bender girl from earlier talking with Toph. But what really averted his attention, was the duffle bag she was holding and the near naked soldier beside her. He quickly turned the horse towards Azula and rushed the horse to her side. "Just act normal, if they say anything make a run for it" Teru said softly, to which Azula nodded and advanced along with Teru towards the gate.

"HEY! Hold on a second!" Came Toph's voice from behind them. '_Well so much for not causing attention_' Teru thought as he nodded at Azula, before making his horse gallop quickly towards the exit, followed closely by Azula. "NOT ON MY WATCH! YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY FROM ME" Toph's voice rang out from behind them. The ground seemed to move of its own accord, as it formed a pair of hands that tried to grip at the horse's legs.

Luckily, Teru had quick reflexes and pulled on the horse's reins to make it veer left, avoiding the hands prompting Azula to do the same. They weaved in and out of each other's path; narrowly avoiding both the collisions with each other and the earthen hands that gripped at them. Teru looked up quickly, just as the gate passed them overhead, telling him that they had indeed made it out of the city.

He sighed in relief, thinking that they were safe for the time being, and that time happened to be short lived. He watched in horror as the ground beneath his and Azula's speeding horse seemed to implode, trapping the horse's legs inside of it. This caused Teru and Azula to both fall of their horses, Azula somehow managed to catch herself and use the horse's momentum to start running. Teru hit the ground very hard, causing him to roll into the dirt.

He could hear Toph's scream of victory and orders getting closer, and that caused him to get to his feet. He thought for a second, what was the best way to get away from a blind girl that sensed vibrations and movement. That's when it hit him, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. And lucky for him, he had remember his satchel of marbles. He smiled as he placed his hand inside and grabbed a white one, before turning to run after Azula.

When he had caught up to her enough, he already saw the stone hands flying from the ground at her, and soon they were after him too. They started to zigzag like they did with the horses, only this time Teru had a trick up his sleeve. He pulled out the white ball and then a few ignition stones from his satchel, and a small piece of paper. He quickly wrapped the white ball in the paper and used the ignition stones to light it, while still managing to avoid the hands.

When the paper was lit, he threw the ball back with all of his might, watching as it landed in front of two guards. They stared down at the burning paper and started to laugh. "This was your big defense! We're fire benders for God's sake! We-" The soldier managed to say, before the white ball inside of the paper exploded thanks to the intense flames of the burning paper. Tsai felt the ground shake, and hoped that the vibration would be enough to throw them off of their tracks.

He looked ahead of him to see Azula commandeering a cart, in her way pushing the driver from the cart and motioning for Teru to hop on. Teru mutter a quick 'Sorry and thank you' before hopping into the cart and sighing as Azula and himself sped off. He wrapped another white ball in paper and set fire to it, throwing it in the opposite direction of the way they were going, hopping that it would hide the vibration of the cart. When it exploded, they were already two hills away from it.

"Nice thinking…Let's see that blind brat follow us now" Azula said coldly, a small laugh following her statement. Teru shook his head and quickly took off the helmet, allowing his hair to finally breath. A few minutes of silence passed, nearly allowing Teru to fall asleep. "So... Exactly where are we going to boy?" Azula asked, finally breaking the silence between them. "A place…. I don't remember the name clearly… But I do remember it being nearly a two day hike from Ba Sing Se" Teru said softly, to which Azula promptly looked over at him and shook her head.

"It's a long way to Ba Sing Se you know! And not only is that one of the problems, but now with the Avatar and his happy group of idiots, security going to be tight." Azula said softly, before looking back towards the road. "Don't worry about that…. I have people in high places that can help us get by" Teru said, a small smile creeping onto his lips. Another silence fell upon them, just as the sun started to set in the distance behind the mountains.

"I have another question…. Probably a bit more personal than my other one" Azula piped up, casting a side-glance to gauge his reaction. "Shoot… I got nothing to hide" Teru said quickly, staring up at the night sky. "I've seen that mask that you wore… it had a weird label on it….. And I was wondering, just who do you work for?" Azula questioned, casting him another side-glance.

"Well I just started a few weeks ago you see…. We call ourselves 'Shadow'….. We run a Mercenary outfit, and that's all I can say…." Teru said smiling, closing his eyes. He heard a grunt of annoyance from Azula, but she said nothing. They continued to ride through the dark, hearing the sounds of the wind and gravel underneath the wheels of the cart. Teru had drifted into a light, almost peaceful sleep.

Azula had remained awake, watching out for any signs of enemies, but just stared into the vast dark hills. Everything seemed peaceful to her, maybe a little to peaceful for her liking. She nudged Teru with her shoulder, making him groan in protest at being woken up. "Get up… Something isn't right…" Azula said cautiously, eyeing her surroundings suspiciously.

"Wha….What happened?" Teru asked lazily, looking as though he was still half-asleep. Azula continued to look around, before peering at a small line of bushes just up the road from them. "How far do you thin we have traveled from the Fire nation capital?" Azula asked quickly, to which Teru slowly got up and straightened himself in his seat. "I would say 10 maybe 20 miles…. Why do you ask?" Teru said softly, before looking back at the sky.

"That means we have been traveling for hours, and we haven't seen any type of resistance nor has anyone been following us" Azula said softly, pulling on the reins to make the horses stop their motion. "Well… you do make quite a point… But then again I did give the blind one the slip… Maybe they went in the opposite direction. So I'm sure that we're in the clear for now" Teru said in a matter of fact tone, smiling at Azula and then looking ahead into the darkness and frowned.

Oh how fate loved to prove him wrong, and help him at the same time. Sometimes he wished it would make up its damn mind. Up ahead, thanks to his eyes being used to seeing in the dark, he saw a few figures run across the road, and then disappear into the bushes. "Azula, seems like you might have been right on this one" Teru said quietly, quickly jumping from the cart and onto the ground. He reached behind him for his duel katana, only to grope at thin air.

That's when he remembered, his swords were inside of the duffle bag! He mentally slapped himself, trying to come up with a different plan as to what they were going to do. He looked over towards Azula to see if she could come up with anything, only to find that she had yet again disappeared. He muttered a quick curse under his breath, when a hand pulled him behind the cart. He would have retaliated quickly, if not for a smiling Azula standing before him.

"I got an idea…. How about we send the cart their way, and attack them from behind while they are focused on the cart" Azula said plainly, and Teru knew that he couldn't say no seeing as he didn't have another plan. He nodded in agreement as Azula smirked and disappeared to the front of the cart. Teru quickly jumped away from the cart and into a nearby ditch, which seemed to run all the way down the road.

When he heard the cart start to pick up speed, he quickly followed it down the road via the ditch, making sure to keep low and unseen. He stopped short of the bushes as he saw the cart start to pass by them. Nothing seemed to happen to the cart, so he thought maybe they were seeing things. He was just about to jump from the ditch when he saw the cart suddenly stop, watching as it seemed to move backwards.

He saw figures jump from the bushes, hands raised towards the cart. "Come out with your hands up! There is no escape now Azula!" One of the figures shouted, followed by a few of the other figures screaming things that Teru could not make out clearly. He smiled as he noticed that there were only seven of the figures, and proceeded towards the bushes behind them. Just as he neared them, he saw them start to approach the cart cautiously.

The figures watched the cart, before sharing an unheard conversation and splitting up in different directions. Teru thanked whatever power was out there when this happened; it just made it a lot easier for him. He could easily pick them off one by one, and probably get some information from them as well. And just as it would happen, one of the men had turned his back to Teru, who still remained hidden in the ditch.

Teru quickly took control of this opportunity and pulled the man into the ditch, silencing him as soon as he was in the shadows. '_One down and six more to go…_' Teru thought to himself, before looking for his next victim. But to his surprise, Azula was walking across the road, wiping her hands on her fire nation uniform. "Hey boy… Why are you still in that ditch?" She said coldly, turning from Teru to walk back towards the cart.

"Wait... There were more of them here then just this guy!" Teru questioned, rising from the ditch to follow after her. "I already got them… all five of them" Azula said nonchalantly, hopping back onto the cart with a smile. Teru nodded and was about to hop onto the cart with her, when what she said really went through his head. "Wait… AZULA THERE WAS SEVEN OF THEM!" Teru screamed, pulling Azula from the cart, just as a boulder zoomed by and crushed the cart.

Azula cursed under her breath and got to her feet, scanning the area for the apparent earth bender. Teru was already on it, moving quickly in a zigzag; narrowly avoiding the spikes from the ground that shot up at him. He could just see the figure in the darkness, when he caught glimpse of the ground in front of him forming up into a wall, effectively blocking off his view. And just to make matters worse, another wall appeared behind and on his sides, and they seemed to be closing in quickly.

Thanks to his quick reflexes, Teru managed to jump from one wall to the other and out of the trap, just as the walls formed a ceiling that would have trapped him inside. He groaned in anger, knowing that he couldn't attack an earth bender head on, especially one like this. He could tell that this earth bender was a strategist; from the way he tried to trap him. "I am Teru Velos! What is your name?" Teru yelled out, making sure that the figure had heard him.

To his surprise, it wasn't a male voice that yelled out, but instead it was a female voice. "My name is none of your business Traitor! Hand yourself over before I have to kill you!". Teru was about to yell back, when he heard a very loud roar interrupt him. He swallowed hard and turned towards the sound of the roar, only to see blood red eyes staring out of the darkness, and it wasn't exactly alone. This was going to be quite a long night.


	4. Dance with the Sandcrawler

Kenpachi: Okay... time to upload a story...  
Teru:Hmmmm... 

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Fear. It's an emotion that all beings are capable of having. It's what triggers their instinct to either fight or flee from the object causing said emotion. Yet, it also has a third effect that more than half of the populous of the world will exhibit in situations. It paralyzes the body, almost like that of a strong poison that stops a person's movement. It sends a signal that mixes up the brainwaves, causing the nerves to lock up and remain in one spot, as though rooted.

Teru was exhibiting the third effect of fear, complete and utter immobility. Never in all his life, was he ever this close to death that he could feel its hot breath against his face. Could see into the soulless red eyes of the object instilling this emotion, the MANY red eyes to be exact. He either dared not make a move, or his body was still paralyzed. He couldn't hear anything except for its irregular breathing, not even a snide remark from Azula.

It leaned in closer to him, and he felt the air around him being sucked in as it sniffed. That was all he could take, he broke into a mad dash away from the creature, just as it made a snap for where he was previously standing. He heard it roar once again, and then the many footfalls of the beast chasing after him. Then he heard it cry in pain, and he felt the earth underneath him move slightly.

He dared a glance over his shoulder, and say that the beast was getting back to its feet, a rather big boulder laying in front of it. He looked towards where the earth bending woman was, and saw her sending rock after rock at the beast. He looked over towards Azula, and saw her staring angrily at her hands as she flicked them, small flames of blue sputtering out before disappearing. Then he saw her reach towards her neck, and begin to pull at something around it.

He did not linger on it, before he heard the death roar of the beast and the footsteps start to recede. Hoping that the beast had left, he turned quickly to find that he was not being chased, but the beast was very much still there. Its attention had only temporarily been averted towards the Earth bender, before it let out another horrifying roar and charged towards the Earth bender.

It seemed to catch the earthbender by surprise, and she seemed to speed up her attacks via throwing rock after rock. When the beast just burst through said attacks, she resorted to sending earthen hands to try and capture the legs of the beast. Yet, every time they would clutch at its legs, it would easily sleep free from its grip. Even through all these attacks, the beast did not show even the smallest sign of slowing its advance.

If anything, it was more pissed off then it was before its initial charge. Before Teru knew it, he heard a shriek and saw the cloak of the earthbender tossing in the air, landing only inches from him. As though completely shaken, she slowly got to her feet in silence. Her eyes locked with Teru's, Silver eyes stared into green orbs. They remained staring at each other for what felt like hours, before a hand grasped the back of Teru's head and yanked him upright.

"I hate to disturb this little session, but can we get back to the task at hand… SHE PISSED IT OFF!" Azula all but yelled at Teru, pointing an accusing finger at the earth bender. Said earth bender growled lowly, making a movement that seemed to Teru to be an attack against Azula. Instead, without even looking, she raised a wall of earth, which the apparently charging beast seemed to crash into with a sickening splat. "I had it completely under control!" She yelled at Azula, who then looked at the girl in annoyance.

"Oh, then what was that little acrobatic stunt that you just displayed?" Azula questioned, raising a quick kick towards the wall. The Sand Crawler was just climbing over the wall to feast on its prey, when a _very_ sharp kick to the mouth sent it back over said wall of earth and onto its back. It groaned in annoyance, and righted itself up-right, letting out another shriek of growing anger. The wall of earth had receded into the ground, and replaced with the image of the arguing teens.

"That was a very complex move used to dodge incoming attacks, from brutes like you traitor!" The Earth bender yelled. "Listen here girly, unless you want to lose that mouth of yours… I suggest you can it!" Azula yelled, hands flashing blue for an instant. Teru was staring at the advancing beast, horror evident on his face. "My Name is not girly! It's Mayako Anami!" Mayako yelled, taking a menacing step closer to Azula.

"I don't care what the hell your name is peasant! You...will...watch... YOUR...TONE!" Azula said hotly, jabbing her finger into Mayako's shoulder with each word. Teru watched as the beast grew closer and closer, until it was just upon them and watched as it let out a deafening roar. What happened next both amazed and concerned him, and for a second he felt sorry for the beast.

Both Azula and Mayako turned towards the roaring beast, and simultaneously screamed "SHUT THE HELL UP" before Mayako wrapped her leg in stone and proceeded, with Azula, to deliver a sickening kick into the skull of the beast. He watched as the beast drew a breath, expecting it to roar again, but instead it let out a pained groan as it tried to right itself up-right.

"And you're not really a threat Traitor… After all, with that necklace around your neck, you can't bend fire anymore" Mayako said, in a matter of fact tone. Azula bit her lip, and seemed taken aback by that comment. Teru got to his feet swiftly, dusting himself off and looking back and forward between the two. "What do you mean she 'can't bend anymore'… I just saw flames come out of her hands" Teru asked, eyeing Mayako in suspicion.

"She probably could light a candle or small fire, but other then that... She can't do anything… Not since the Avatar put that necklace on her" Mayako said sternly, flashing a wicked grin at Azula, who looked as though she was ready to strangle them both. "Just cause I can't bend doesn't mean I won't kick you all the way to the Earth Kingdom!" Azula retorted, earning a laugh from Mayako.

"Oh please Traitor… Your know for your vicious FIRE attacks…. I doubt you could take even a beginner bender, let alone one of the Dai Li like me" Mayako smirked, placing her hand on her hip and staring Azula down. Teru could see the anger radiating from Azula as she shook, as though a pillar of fire was blasting from the earth. "I could kick your ass even without my bending! Whether your Dai Li or not!" Azula spat back, taking a threatening step towards Mayako.

Mayako smirked, and made a quick fluid motion with her hand. The dirt beneath Azula morphed into a hole, quickly sucking her beneath its depths up to her neck. Azula swore loudly as she looked up at the smirking Mayako. "Now… if you would be so kind as to come quietly… I would appreciate it" Mayako said sweetly, a smile playing across her cheeks as she looked over towards Teru. He exchanged glances with a rather ticked off Azula, before looking back towards Mayako.

His jaw dropped in abstract horror as he raised a hand to point at Mayako. She raised a questioning eyebrow at the boy, and was about to move to send him underground like that of Azula, when a very load roar from her immediate vicinity caused her to lurch forward. Strong jaws snapped at the space that she had preoccupied not even seconds ago. Mayako turned quickly to stare into the many red eyes of a _very pissed off_ sand crawler.

By the time Mayako was moving to raise a wall of earth, the sand crawler had already lashed out with its front legs, sending her tumbling towards Teru's feet. She rose to her feet, stumbling a bit as she stood. "I think that thing needs a lesson in respecting women…" Mayako said coldly, bringing her hands to her chest and then pushing it outwards, sending a wave of earth rippling towards the beast like that of a tidal wave at the beach.

But to both their amazement, the sand crawler charged at the wave and quickly jumped over it, giving out another roar as it charged the two of them. The two of them managed to jump to the same side, out of the way of the sand crawlers attack. It quickly adapted to the situation by turning its body and catching Mayako in the chest with its backside. She hit the ground with an audible thud, and did not move from her spot.

The beast, glad of its victory over the obnoxious earth thrower, moved in to claim its meal. It took a few steps towards her, and opened its maw, ready to devour its prey. Mayako slowly opened her eyes, and saw its saliva-slickened teeth opening to eat her. She could not summon the strength to move her hands to defend herself, and she knew that she was going to die. So she took one more look at the creature, and closed her eyes to wait for death.

She heard the snap, and waited for the pain to consume her senses. Yet, the pain that was to be never came to harm her. In fact, she could hear the beast's growls, and hear its feet shuffling, but did not feel its teeth rip into her flesh. She peeked out of her left eye, before opening both of her eyes in shock. In front of her, Teru was holding the beast's maw open, blood running down his hands from where the teeth had managed to penetrate.

The beast was shuffling its feet forward, trying its hardest to close its maw, or move it so that it was completely over the both of them. "What the hell are you doing? I don't need your help!" Mayako screamed, still trying to find the strength to get to her feet. Teru spared a side-glance at the girl, still keeping his focus on the sand crawler, and its maw full of teeth. "Is… that anyway to thank someone for… Uggh… Saving your life" Teru chocked out, struggling to keep the beast's mouth open.

"You should have just let her die!"She heard Azula yell from behind the beast, still buried up to her neck. "Then how would we get you out of there princess?" Teru joked, still not taking his eye off of the beast. It growled as beast it could, adding more pressure from its jaws, bringing Teru to his knees. Mayako stumbled to her feet once again, and assessed the situation. This boy could not hold the beast back for long, and it was going to be hard to beat it by herself.

She cast a stern glance towards the still buried Azula, who returned a glare of annoyance. There was no way in hell Mayako was going to team up with her. Teru groaned in pain, as the beast seemed to push forward, pinning him to the ground beneath its body. Mayako nearly bit her lip, just as she bit her pride as she released Azula from her earthen prison. "Whether we like it or not, we have to work together to save your friend" Mayako said sternly, glaring at Azula as she wiped herself off.

"Oh? And I thought that you could handle it on your own" Azula chided, casting a smirk at the now fuming girl. She would have said something, if not for the agonizingly loud groan from behind her. She didn't even think for a second, creating a pillar of earth below Azula, sending the Ex-fire princess skyward. Another wall of earth erupted underneath the sand crawler, pulling it upwards along with Teru. He tried to rip his hands from the things teeth, but only succeeded in causing himself more pain.

He caught his footing on the earthen wall and made a dash up to the beast's still opened maw. He pulled his hands free from the beast's teeth, leaving a large gash across his palm as the beast's jaws snapped shut. Teru decided to return some of the pain and delivered a savage kick to the beast's jaw, just as Azula was coming downward to deliver a kick to the top of its head.

From the combined powers of the two forces, Teru could hear a sickening crunch and blood spewed from the beast's maw. Azula jumped from its head and dragged Teru down as the wall of earth curved and crashed itself into the ground along with the sand crawler. Another sickening crunch graced their ears and a deafening howl of agony pierced the night. They watched as the beast's legs gave a final jerk, and then all was quiet and still.

Teru smiled and looked towards the two women as they stared at each other. "How about a word of warning next time you want to send someone catapulting into the air!" Azula spat, glaring at Mayako. Mayako growled lowly in her throat, and took a menacing step towards Azula. "If I hadn't done what I did, he wouldn't be here right now!" Mayako countered, casting a glance at Teru. Azula was about to say something back, when she noticed Teru waver slightly, and take a small step back.

It all happened in an instant, one second Teru was smiling at them, and the next he had fallen over backwards and started shaking on the ground. Blood seeped from his open wounds on his hands. Azula was quick to check the damage, and noticed that the wounds were not across the palm as she had thought, but instead the teeth had torn straight through his hand, leaving a very deep hole. Yet, they were not the only injuries that Teru had, she could see blood pooling from under his shirt. She quickly ripped it off, and noticed three puncture wounds, very much fresh.

"He needs a doctor!" Azula yelled at Mayako, who nodded and created a mound of earth. She took a step and another mound formed, she continued this process until she was running quickly, and the mounds helping her cover more ground as she used them to run. Teru groaned loudly, staring up into the face of Azula as she applied pressure to the wounds, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Don't you die on me just yet boy!" Azula screamed, applying more pressure to the wound. Teru smiled up at her, his eyes suddenly becoming heavier, he wanted so bad to sleep. She was saying something, but he could no longer make out what she was saying, his heartbeat sounded louder than her words. Before he knew it, his vision was getting fuzzier and he allowed the darkness to finally take him. He closed his eyes and muttered a quick "Thanks".


	5. Snowflake

Teru:Well here you have it folks.. An update to show I AM NOT DEAD

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Silver eyes slowly opened groggily, light filtering into a tiny room as the eyes roamed their surroundings. From the looks of it, the room served mostly as a small bedroom. It contained a place for the night-flame, a few desks, and then the bed which he was currently lying down on. He tried to sit, only to groan in pain and grip his side. Teru lifted his shirt slowly, and noticed the bandages that were wrapped around his mid-section.

He could see the outline of the dried blood that had soaked into the bandages. He looked at his hands next, noticing that they too were bandaged. Whoever had bandaged him up took very good care to do it. One thing you learned from working with "Shadow" was that you learned to deduct things from your surroundings. The way he was bandaged up, obviously showed that his 'doctor' was probably a medic in the army.

Teru looked around again, and continued on his train of thought. 'Fire nation symbol hanging proudly, very basic room design meaning that either he is still active and moves around a lot, or he just wanted to retire to the simpler things. Lack of pictures in this room, but can't rule out that he has a family. And an Empty bird cage? Fire nation so possibly a falcon or hawk, not dead because there is food in its cage, so possibly out flying' Teru thought to himself.

He finally managed to get himself to stand, trying his hardest to ignore the pain that was coursing through his torso. He slowly walked towards the sliding door, gently prodding it open as quietly as he could. As soon as the door cracked open, he could hear the faint murmurs of people talking. He opened the door fully and advanced into the hallway, pictures lined its walls.

Teru took the time while advancing towards the talking to survey some of the photos. Most depicted of a man and woman happily engaged in different activities together. A few showed him posing for pictures in front of and on what looked like a fire nation frigate, confirming Teru's suspicion of him have military experience. The voices had gotten louder, and he could just make out the angry voice of Azula among them.

Teru slowly trudged towards the sliding door at the end of the hall, where the voices were coming from and opened it slowly. The voices ceased upon hearing the soft click of it opening, and as Teru looked over the room of people, they looked at him. Azula was sitting next to Mayako, both of them staring up at Teru with a mix of relief and confusion. The third person in the room seemed to be an old man, dressing in very simple kimono and with a pair of glasses adorning his face. Teru bowed slightly to all in the room and took a seat next to Mayako.

She regarded him with a cold stare before looking back at the old man. "Glad to see you survived your wounds young one…. It's not every day that someone comes barging and bleeding into my home… Especially someone that was as bloodied and beaten as you were." The Man said softly, a small chuckle escaping his dry lips. Teru nodded slightly before saying "Thank you for your aid…. It was greatly appreciated". The old man chuckled again and smiled.

"You should be thanking your friends here… They practically beat down my door and forced me to bandage you up. Lucky for them, I had some left over or you probably would not have survived the night" he said solemnly. Teru caught him absentmindedly looking over at the window as though he was waiting on something to arrive. 'Probably from his bird' Teru thought, smiling at the old man. Azula huffed in anger and turned towards Teru.

"So… Are you okay to travel? If not, I can just leave you here and be on my way" She said coolly, jerking her head towards the door. But Teru wasn't paying attention to her; instead he was staring into the eyes of the old man sitting across from him. The man smiled back at Teru, never once breaking eye contact. "I saw your pictures in the hall…. You used to serve on a Fire Nation ship correct?" Teru asked, eyeing the man for a response. As though it was rehearsed, the old man quickly replied "Oh yes… The Crimson flame…. Quite a spectacular ship with an even better crew aboard her…. Was sunk during the war with the Earth Kingdom…. Sad really, lost quite a few people there". It was such a subtle thing, that Teru barely even caught it.

The old man blinked back the tear before it could even produce itself, and once again he absentmindedly looked towards the window. "I also noticed that there were pictures of a woman… some of them on the same ship" Teru probed. "Yes…. My wife Marlene….. She was quite a fire-cracker I tell you…. Even look at her funny was asking to get singed, and that was if she let you off easy!" The man replied, chuckling a bit at the memory of his wife. "Sir… I am sorry if I am being rude… But we would like to know the name of the person that helped us" Mayako piped up, eyeing Teru and the man. "Oh! I am terribly sorry miss…. I am Karudo Tzu" The old man replied, nodding at Mayako.

Teru looked over at Mayako, who looked as though she was in deep concentration after hearing that name. Azula huffed and stood up, turning all attention towards her. "Where is your bathroom" She asked coldly, to which Karudo smiled and pointed it out for her. She turned on her heel and quickly entered the bathroom before shutting the door behind her. "Quite a temper she has….. Reminds me of my dear Marlene… Be careful lad, she just might burn you for the fun of it" Karudo joked, earning a small grin from Teru and Mayako. "Mr. Karudo….. You have a child do you not?" Teru asked suddenly, to which Karudo stopped laughing. The atmosphere around them seemed to change slightly, as Karudo looked at Teru with a contemplating look.

"I have a son… why do you ask?" Karudo replied, casting a side-glance towards the window once more. "With both his parents in the army…. Then he must also be in the army correct?" Teru replied, seeming to sit up straighter in his seat. "I never said my wife was in the army… She was just a normal fire-bender" Karudo said softly, and then a spark of realization dawned on him.

"Fire-benders are all recruited into the army at a respectable age of 18 under the late Fire lord Ozai" Teru said slowly, catching subtle hints and Karudo looking more towards the window. "Then yes... We both served on the same ship… and one thing lead to another…" Karudo said simply, giving off a nervous chuckle at Teru's prying eyes. "Then that's where I heard the name before…. I knew the Tzu name sounded familiar... Your son served on the Blue flame…. I met him there when I traveled from the Earth kingdom to the Palace" Mayako chipped in, earning a smile from Karudo and Teru.

What she didn't know however, was that Teru and Karudo were playing a deadly game of cat and mouse. "Yes he served on that ship… Before they decommissioned it a few weeks back…. He became a guard after that" Karudo replied, a small tear breaking past his eye and sliding down his face. It went completely unnoticed to Mayako, and Karudo thought Teru would not have noticed it either. Before Teru could ask another Question, the door to the bathroom clicked open, and Azula walked out quietly.

She avoided eye contact with anyone in the room and sat down quickly. "You should lighten up girly… You never know how much time you have left to enjoy it" Karudo chuckled, smiling at the Ex-fire nation princess. Azula was about to respond to Karudo, when a small squawk caused her to jump away from the window. Sitting in the window was a raven black Falcon, obviously returning home with a note attached to its leg.

"Ah FiFu is back….. How was your hunt girl?" Karudo said softly, beckoning 'Fifu' closer with his finger to which the Falcon gladly jumped from the window and flew to the table. "So….Karudo…. how long ago did you send the message" Teru suddenly asked, causing Mayako and Azula to both stare at him. "That's pretty personal! Just asking a man how long ago he sent an m-"

"I sent it an hour after you were stable….." Karudo said softly, interrupting Mayako. The air seemed to tense around them, with Karudo wearing a small smile. Teru slowly stood up painfully, but did not let it show on his face. "Thank you for your hospitality and dressing of my wounds…. But it is time that we left" Teru said softly, bowing slightly before walking back to the room and getting what little he had brought with him. Mayako and Azula both sat there dumbfounded when he returned, completely deterred by what had happened.

"Did… we miss something here?" Azula asked, eyeing Teru and then Karudo. Without even turning around Teru replied "He sent a message to the fire lord, telling him that you were here". "What?! How would he even know who I am?" Azula replied, causing Mayako to stare at her incredulously. "You WERE the fire nation princess…. EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE!" Mayako nearly shouted. Azula quickly scrambled to her feet and pushed the door open, followed closely by Mayako.

Before Teru could step out the door, he heard Karudo shuffle to his feet. "Young man…. Please do not think ill of me for this… It is my duty as a citizen to report when I can" Karudo said softly. Teru did not turn towards the man, but he did reply. "Your son…. He was stationed at the same prison that she was kept at….. I…apologize for your loss" Teru replied, before he darted out of the house. What he saw next astounded him, here he was ready to run and get as far away from the doctor's home as he could.

And Azula and Mayako seemed to be in a heated debate over Spirits knows what. "What is going on here?" Teru blurted out, earning him a glare from both Mayako and Azula. "You are both criminals… and as a member of the Dai Li, I must place you both under arrest" Mayako replied casually. Teru was familiar with a few rules of the Dai Li, especially those that came with the law. But also one aspect that Mayako was probably not. "She wants to turn us in! I told you, should have just let that thing eat her and be done with it!" Azula growled, casting a look of pure venom at Mayako.

"Azula….she won't be turning us in" Teru stated in a matter-of-fact like tone. Their looks of anger turned into those of confusion, especially Mayako's. "And why, in all the land, is that true?" Mayako questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because Mayako….You owe me a life debt…. And as a Dai Li agent, you are obligated to help me until you pay it off" Teru smirked at her, as she mulled over this information.

"B-b-b-but... That shouldn't count… I…..we….." Mayako choked out, trying to find a way to respond. "No buts Mayako…. I saved your life from the Sand crawler... So the debt still stands" Teru said softly, eyeing Mayako suspiciously. Azula smirked at Mayako, to which Mayako made a rather rude hand gesture. Teru would have laughed, had he not heard the sound of marching and coughed loudly to get their attention. "Only one way to lose them... and it's not by standing around here" Teru announced.

They seemed to get the idea and started a mad dash away from the house. From what Teru could see, they were mostly in farm-land from the many crops and scarce few homes he could see. On the outskirts of the land, he could make out a bunch of trees, more than likely a forest. "Down there! I see them!" Teru heard someone shout. With a quick glance back, he saw what looked to be half a division of soldiers charging down the hill towards them.

"Guys! Double-time it to that forest!" Teru yelled, pointing ahead of them. He heard a groan from Azula and smirked, here comes the smart-ass reply. "Oh joy... A forest... Perfect to get lost in a forest while wearing red" Azula nearly yelled. Mayako stayed silent, which slightly unnerved Teru. Even though he had just met her, he was already putting her in a life or death situation. After a few minutes of running, they had cleared the farm land and were now inside of the forest.

As they swiftly traversed the foliage, the sounds of the soldiers running behind them still echoed in their ears. After what had felt like an hour of running, Teru finally decided that they could rest. Taking refuge in a bush that was mostly out of sight and under an overbearing tree. Mayako took a seat on the ground, while Teru leaned against the tree to stand as a look out and Azula joined Mayako. The two were still staring daggers at one another, and Teru noticed that she was also giving him quite a cold stare.

Teru was about to say something, when he heard footsteps rushing towards their position. He placed a finger to his lips to tell the others to be quiet, as the footsteps started to grow in volume. Before long, they saw the flashes of red and the skull-like helmets of the fire nation soldiers cautiously walking past. Teru was rather happy that none of them were apart of 'Shadow', or they would have more than likely checked the bush first. Actually, being a part of 'Shadow', they would probably have been caught already.

Teru, Azula, and Mayako held their breath, afraid that they would be heard if they released it. Two fire nation soldiers, seemingly at the back of the group, stopped dead in their tracks right in front of the bush. Spears in their hands, and they slowly started to advance towards it. Teru took a small step back, and bent low; just in case they came in he could sweep them quickly and allow for the others to get away. Just as the soldiers were about to push aside the foliage, a horn sounded in the distance.

They looked at one another, and quickly ran after the other group. "Gathering Horn... From their general most likely" Azula spoke first, as they released the breath they were holding in. Teru nodded as they rested on what he felt was borrowed time. When they were sure that they could no longer hear the soldiers, they emerged from the bush and cautiously started to walk north, after the soldiers. "Why are we following after them if we are trying to avoid them?" Mayako asked from the back of the group, earning a small laugh from Azula.

"Some Dai Li you are…. It's simple… If they are chasing us, then they would continue towards the next town… Where we can acquire a map" Azula pitched in, earning her a low growl from the earth bender. Mayako smirked as she casually flicked her wrist, making a rock form in front of Azula, which Azula then tripped over. Azula slowly stood, spitting out dirt and dusting herself off, as Mayako walked past her with a smile and humming to herself. Azula growled and stood to her feet, dusting herself off before picking up a stray stick and slowly advancing on Mayako with the intent of thwacking her as hard as she could.

Yet, before she could get close enough, Teru stopped moving which caused Mayako to bump into him and abruptly send her onto her butt. "Ouch! Next time tell someone before you stop!" Mayako fumed, and then noticed the completely stoic features on Teru's face. His eyes were closed in concentration, and she could have sworn she saw his ear twitch.

Then a small smile graced his face, and he gave out a light chuckle. Mayako was completely confused, until she heard a small rustling in the forest around them. "It seems that we have just walked right into a trap" Teru said softly, cracking his knuckles in rhythm. Mayako was confused along with Azula, until fire nation soldiers started to file out of the nearby bushes and shrubs, swords and spears pointed and ready. "By order of Fire Lord Zuko, you are all hereby under arrest" The most decorated of them said, spear gleaming in the sunlight and his white horse standing triumphant.

Even though the face was hidden, Teru could tell that they were smirking underneath their masks. "…I should have known that it was too easy for us to follow them" Teru said dejectedly, looking over at Azula and Mayako. "Will you come peacefully or will we have to use force?" The officer asked again, edging closer with his spear. Teru quickly assessed the situation; twelve armed guards were around them. Most concentrated behind them, a pincer strategy.

It was unknown how many of them could bend, but in such a dense forest they would have to be more skilled or risk injuring themselves and the forest. He glanced at Mayako, who was looking around at the soldiers. 'Earth Bender… In this terrain, she should have the advantage over just grunts….' Teru thought to himself. "Hey! I'm one of the Dai Li!" Mayako blurted out, smiling to herself as a few of the soldiers' heads turned towards the other and then back at her. "But here you are, helping two fugitives… Even amongst the Dai Li this is treason!" A few of them yelled, edging even closer with their spears.

One of them edged just too far, placing his spear just within grasp of Teru. In the span of just a few seconds, Teru had grabbed the spear and quickly wrung it from the figure's grasp. He elbowed the person in the gut, and then quickly placed the spear over the soldier's throat and held them close. "Anyone move and I slit his throat" Teru said coldly, quickly glancing over to the stunned Mayako and the slightly impressed Azula. The Men surrounding them looked towards their leader, not wanting to risk the life of their comrade.

The more decorated of them started to chuckle and then burst into full on laughter. "I will admit child… You have something most of my men lack!" He laughed, slowly removing his helmet and allowing long silver hair to flow out. His face was devoid of wrinkles and looked to be completely smooth minus the small pencil-like beard on his chin. His brown eyes shined with Pride as they stared directly into Teru's. "Are you talking about half a brain or fashion sense? Cause your men are clearly lacking both" Teru retorted, earning him a few growls and threats from the soldiers.

Their leader on the other hand boomed with renewed laughter, wiping away a fake tear. "And you're a feisty one at that! If only my men had the same amount of courage you had! Before we imprison you, I would like to know the name of the boy with such tenacity!" He laughed, to which his men around him took a combined step closer. "Well, since you laid out this party for us... It's only fair that you tell us your name first" Teru replied, pulling the spear closer to his captive's neck, making the advancing troops take another step back.

The man smirked down at them and dismounted his horse. "My name is Idakatsu Moritomi, General of the fire riders" Idakatsu responded, pulling his sword from his sheath and pointing it towards them. "Mayako... listen carefully… when I release this man, I want you to create a wall of earth and push it towards them, and then take Azula and run while I distract them" Teru whispered softly, just low enough for Mayako to hear and nod in response. But just high enough for the soldier he was holding to hear as well.

"General! They are pla-" He never finished his sentence as Teru quickly pinched a nerve in his neck to silence him and pushed the man forward into his comrades, who had to lay down their spears as to not impale him. The moment he was released, Mayako summoned a wall of earth in front of them and quickly pushed it towards the soldiers. She grabbed Azula's hand, muttering a quick "Let's go princess" and made a mad dash past the confused soldiers. She chanced a glance back and stared in disbelief as Teru had grabbed hold of the wall and rode it into the troops.

"They are getting away!" Idakatsu yelled, to which a few of his troops turned to give chase, only to be met with a well-timed kick as Teru jumped from the rock. "GET HIM! I don't care if he's dead or alive! Nobody makes a fool of the Fire riders!" Idakatsu yelled, prompting his men to charge. Teru picked up the spear of one of the unconscious men and twirled it a bit.

"Time to earn my pay" He whispered to himself, and dived into the fight. Quickly dodging a pair of spears aimed at skewering him, Teru used their opening and brought the spear he was holding to the side and slapped them with the blunt side sending them flying back. Three more stepped in and started to thrust their spears at him, forcing Teru to start to parry and dodge each of their strikes.

The ones he missed managing to cut his already tattered clothing and leaving fine red lines along his arm. He jumped back away from them, and nearly collapsed in pain, a small trickle of blood becoming evident as it slide down his chest. He had begun to reopen his wounds and there was no way he could fight like this. Quickly thinking up a solution, he grabbed hold of his spear and charged at the soldiers. Used to such tactics, the soldiers formed a line and presented their spears, their general smirking as he put his sword in front as well.

Just as Teru seemed about to ram smack into them and be skewered, he tilted the spear downward and vaulted himself across the soldiers. They watched as he jumped over them and broke into a dash. They thought he was running, but that soon changed when they saw him pull himself onto their general's horse and quickly take off. They all blinked and looked at each other and then to their general.

"He took her…..He took snowflake…. I WILL HAVE HIS HEAD!" Idakatsu yelled, deciding to charge after the running horse along with his men. Teru chuckled at the chasing men, but then grabbed his chest in pain. When he looked at his hand, he saw it nearly completely stained red.

'**This is bad…. I need to lose these guys quick and find something to stop the bleeding**' Teru thought to himself. It didn't take long before the men's shouts became more and more distant. "The fire riders? But only one of them was on a horse… such a stupid name" Teru said softly to himself. After a few minutes of riding, Teru managed to find himself riding into town. A sign clearly reading 'Matsuki village' hanging on the wall of the first building. He slowly jumped from the horse and turned it around.

"Go on back to your master… He's probably worried sick about you" Teru said softly, giving the horse a small spank on its buttocks so that it broke into a run back towards the forest. His mind quickly drifted to Azula and Mayako, wondering if they had managed to make it into the town. Yet, before he could begin his search his eyes caught a familiar sight of a red scorpion on the front doors of a nearby building. "Seems my day may be looking up" Teru laughed, goading his body to walk into the building.

The smell of alcohol and smoke wafted through the air and damn near bowled Teru over. He should have expected this from a place like this, especially since it's a bar. To his surprise, the bartender locked eyes with him from the moment he walked in and gestured for him to come over. When he finally got to the bar, the bartender smirked and put down the mug he had been using and started to speak lowly to Teru.

"S'bout time you got here kid…. We got a hawk last night about the mission damn near being botched up…" He said softly. Teru stared the man up and down, and then looked around as though he was confused. "I have no idea what you're talking about sir" Teru replied. The barman gave Teru a deadpan look before sighing and pointing down the row of tables to his left. Teru followed his finger and saw Mayako and Azula sitting at one of the tables looking over what looked to be a map to which they looked up and waved.

"Son, I was the one who signed your contract to Shadow… I know what you look like and I know your jobs…" The barman argued, poking Teru in the chest for emphasis. Teru again looked the man up and down and sighed. "Next time could you just say you're a member of Shadow instead? Remember we don't really know many outside of our units" Teru growled. He slowly got out of his seat, but nearly collapsed back into it.

"You need to go and see Yui upstairs, first door on your right… your bleeding all over my nice clean floor" The barman laughed, earning a few snickers from some of the closer patrons. "And don't worry about your mark over there. It's still your job to get her to Iraka, but we can watch out for her in town. Hell! I grabbed her off the street myself" The barman laughed again, before picking up a new mug to clean.

Teru smiled and excused himself, managing to get up this time and slowly walk off towards the stairs. He had made it to the stairs when a thought occurred to him. "Hey barman!" He yelled, to which the barman growled at him. "Call me Morris kid!" Morris replied to which Teru nodded. "Well Morris… I'm going to need a new party bag and a set of Plate bread" Teru yelled back, to which Morris nodded and turned back to his duties.

Teru slowly climbed up the stairs to the second floor and made his way to the first door on his right. The moment he opened the door, he wished he hadn't. Silver eyes met a pair of green eyes and a pair of yellow eyes. Two women stood before him, both of them nearly naked save for a tower wrapped around their shoulders. The one with yellow eyes hid behind the one with green eyes who seemed to just smile.

"It's been awhile Teru…." The one with green eyes said softly. Teru stood dumbfound as he stared at the one woman he never wanted to see again. "What are you doing here Cass" He managed to blurt out. She nearly laughed and closed the distance between them, gently rubbing the fabric of the towel against Teru as she whispered softly in his ear.

"It's Yui darling…..and oh how I have missed you"


End file.
